Family Tree
by Rosesdancinginmymind
Summary: Very AU oneshot. Set post 2x16. Imagines Rumple to be Regina's father and set straight after she finds out. She doesn't know what to do but gets help from an unexpected source. RegalBeliever fic.


_Very AU oneshot. Set post 2x16. Imagines Rumple to be Regina's father and set straight after she finds out. She doesn't know what to do but gets help from an unexpected source. RegalBeliever fic. _

Purple smoke fills the foyer as Regina materialises into her mansion. She needed to get away from that shop and fast. Her head reels from the shock, shocks, of the day. There was Snow's proposition and an offered heart. A proposition she took in the hopes that she might finally be able to have the mother she'd always dreamed of. She slotted the heart in and her mother gave her a bright smile and Regina was lost.

She was not used to a mother looking at her with such love and happiness. She didn't know what to do in the face of it. It was too much. Regina saw her mother's smile and backed away. Her mother's heart may have been full of new love and happiness at seeing her daughter but Regina's memories are full of anger and pain.

Then came the latest shock. Her mother turned round to Rumple and confessed something that sent Regina fleeing. _She's your daughter_. The words ring in her ears and she still can't quite believe them. She had a father. She had a Daddy who taught her to walk and talk, who shielded when he could from her mother. She has a father already.

So where does Rumple figure into this?

Like with her mother most of her memories of Rumple are of darkness and pain. Even when he was helping her it was with an agenda. She was never more to him than a pawn in his game, a way for him to find his son. At that thought Regina sighs. Even if she does figure out what to do with this newfound revelation she will never compare up to Baelfire. After all Rumple turned her to dark magic and had her cast a curse just to get to him. _Never enough_ she thinks sadly.

Her head is spinning from the various shocks of the day when the doorbell rings. For a moment she considers just ignoring it not wanting to face Cora or Rumple right now. In the end she figures she may as well deal with it now or risk them coming back later. She creaks the door open and smiles in surprise at seeing her son on the porch.

At least this one is a good surprise.

She pulls it open fully and smiles down at her son, "Hey Henry." It's then that she notices Emma hovering near by, "Miss Swan."

"Hey," Emma says sheepishly, "Are you okay?"

Regina wants to laugh at the word okay. She's not sure how she feels but it's most definitely not okay. She chooses to bypass the question entirely and instead looks at her son, "So Henry do you want to come in?"

He nods, "Yep. I need your help."

"My help?" she asks in shock. It's been a long time since he's come to her for help. It's been a long time since she was the only one he wanted to come to.

"He was quite insistent," Emma says with a smile, "He has a project and he took one look at and told me it was a 'Mom and Henry' thing."

Regina smiles at those words. She remembers how when it was just the two of them that they would have little moments they called 'Mom and Henry' things. She misses those days. She never thought she'd get one again but today she does. Her grin grows wider as she gestures for him to come in. The rest of her family life may be complicated but with Henry it's simple. She loves him and he's her son and so it's easy to let him in.

Emma waves to Henry as he walks inside before throwing himself and his bag down on the couch. Regna shakes her head with a smile at a motion that used to drive her crazy but has been missing since he left. She sits down beside him. "So a 'Mom and Henry' thing. We haven't had one of those in a while."

He smiles sadly, "I know. I have missed you Mom."

"I've missed you too Henry. With my mother in town I had to stay away and then you went to New York."

"And found my Dad."

Regina nods. She heard about that, "I know. Do you like him?"

Henry shrugs, "I don't know yet. Is that bad?"

She shakes her head, "Of course not Henry. You don't know him yet, it's okay to not know how you feel about him."

He smiles, "I guess. I heard about what happened in the pawn shop. Are you okay?"

She sighs, "I don't know yet. How about we look at your project?"

He nods before pulling out a sheet of paper. Henry rolls it out and Regina smiles upon seeing what it is. It's a project he had five years ago – a family tree. She remembers the day they sat together with pencil crayons and sketched out the tree before he carefully wrote out both of their names.

"I have to update it," he says, "But this is our tree and it didn't feel right to do it without you."

"A Mom and Henry thing," Regina replies with a soft smile as she looks at the tree. There are only three people on it. Her, her father and Henry. Back then that was all the family they had and all she needed. It was simpler back then. _Lonelier for Henry_ she thinks sadly knowing that he is happier now that he has so much more family.

He nods, "I also wanted to check with you before I put them on."

"Why? It's your tree," Regina points out.

Henry shakes his head, "No. It's ours Mom which means we do it together."

She smiles before adding in two branches above his head and level with her, "Emma and Neal."

He writes them in before smiling at the three names, "It's weird isn't it?"

"What is?" Regina asks.

"Well I have two Moms because I have you and Emma and I guess now you have two Dads because you have your Dad and Rumple."

"It's different Henry," Regina says, "You wanted to find Emma. You knew she was your mother and you wanted her back here. I never knew about Rumple and I don't know whether or not I even want him to be my father."

"It's not that different," Henry points out, "I never knew about my Dad and he never knew about me just like Rumple didn't know about you. I know it's different because Rumple taught you magic and had you do the curse but maybe we could help each other out since we're going through similar things."

Regina smiles at the offer. It's not one she expected and her situation isn't really something she thought her son would understand but she realises he's right. The circumstances and histories are different but at their most basic level their situations are similar. If she's able to empathise with anyone here it's her son. He's not who she expected to ask for advice but he's here and he understands and maybe the can help each other. It's nice to be the one he wants to help and who he wants for help again, "How are you coping? With your father I mean because I have no idea what to do Henry."

He shrugs, "I don't know. I just go one day at a time I guess and try to get to know him. He's my Dad and it's not his fault that he didn't know me. I want to get to know him like I got to know Emma. I guess I'm just giving him a chance. I believed in Emma to be the Saviour and she was. I believed you could change and be the Mom I remembered you being and you did. I gave you guys chances and now I have two Moms and I wouldn't change that for anything so I figure I should give him one too."

"How did you get so smart?" Regina asks marvelling at her son's way of seeing things. It used to be so black and white for him – good and evil and that was it. Now though he believes in her as much as Emma.

He shrugs before asking, "So what do you think you're going to do?"

Regina sighs before looping her arm over her son's shoulders, "I don't know. I want to give him and my mother a chance but I don't have a lot of good memories when it comes to them."

"I get it," he says, "For ages I thought you were the evil queen. I read the book and saw loads of horrible things you did to Snow and others but I also knew you were my Mom. I knew who you could be and I hoped that if I gave you a chance then you could just be my Mom again."

"But we had good memories Henry. Back when it was just you and me we had some good times right? I loved you and we had fun. You say you knew who I could be because I had been your Mom for so long. I don't really have that with Cora or Rumple."

"No but you could," Henry replies, "I have a big family now Mom and so do you. I loved it when it was just you and me and no matter how big this tree gets there's always going to be you and me but families grow and that's a good thing Mom."

She smiles then, "It can be. I know that when you came into my family it was the best thing."

He grins, "See. I'm not saying it will be easy or necessarily good but is it worth a chance?"

Regina nods slowly. If her son can believe in her after all the things she's done and if people can give her a chance can she give her parents one? She looks again at Henry who understands, probably more than most, what she's going through before she smiles, "How about a new 'Mom and Henry' thing?"

He smiles, "Like what?"

"Where we give our newfound parents a chance. Together?" she asks holding out her little finger.

He wraps his pinky around hers and she's hit by the memory of when they first did this and how his tiny four year old finger wrapped around hers. "Mom and Henry thing," he agrees. They look at their family tree which only continues to grow and become more complex. Regina may not know what to do but with her son it's simple. It's a Mom and Henry thing and no matter what may happen with Rumple or Cora or Neal that family tree will always have begun with the two of them.

_Thanks for reading :) _


End file.
